A STAMPEDE OF MULES. 141 



hands of the Department at Washington. Soon 

 after, as Sheridan pushed forward, the Washington 

 end twitched vigorously. He managed, however, 

 with his right arm, Custer, to deal a sledge-hammer 

 blow, which broke to fragments the Cheyenne Black- 

 kettle and his band. Whether or not that band had 

 been guilty of the recent murders, the property of 

 the slain was found in their possession, and the ter- 

 rible punishment caused the residue of the tribe to 

 sue for peace. It was the first time for years that 

 the war spirit had placed any horrors at their doors, 

 and that one terrible lesson prepared the savage mind 

 for the advent of peace commissioners. 



Our brief conference ended, the General bade us 

 good day, and washed us a pleasant experience. 

 Scarcely had we got beyond his tents, however, when 

 we were overtaken by a decidedly unpleasant one. 

 On their way to water, a troop of mules stampeded, 

 and passing us in a cloud of dust, our brutes took bits 

 in their teeth, and joined company. Happily, the 

 run was a short one to the creek, where those of 

 us who had not fallen off before managed to do so 

 then. Poor Gripe was the only person injured, 

 suffering the fracture of a rib, which necessitated his 

 return to Topeka, so that we did not see him again 

 until some months afterward, when we met him on 

 the Solomon. 



